Gilway to Citizens policyholders: Please leave

Barry Gilway is a decidedly rare breed: A chief executive who really wants you to take your business to one of his competitors.

Gilway, a panelist in an insurance workshop Friday in Delray Beach advised Citizens' customers to think twice about staying with the state-backed insurer.

"I hate to say this as the CEO, but when you take a look at your Citizens policy, you do not have good coverage," Gilway told a group of 40 assembled at the Emma Lou Olsen Civic Center in Pompano Beach.

Some 400,000 current Citizens policyholders will receive letters giving them the option to leave Citizens and go to one of 10 companies the state Office of Insurance Regulation has given permission to remove from Citizens' roster by November 5.

The workshop was the last of four hosted this week by state Sen. Maria Lorts Sachs who invited Gilway, other government officials and industry leaders to discussion insurance questions and concerns with South Floridians.

Gilway estimated another 50,000 to 100,000 policies could be chosen by private carriers to leave Citizens by year end. As a result, the insurer may be on its way to dipping below 1 million policies before the New Year, he said.

"We'll be down close to 800,000 policies in Citizens because the market is growing stronger and stronger."

Residents in attendance voiced concerns about hikes in premium prices, confusion about what is and isn't covered in their policies, frustration over receiving limited background on the takeout companies and not knowing whether they were required to take a company's offer to leave Citizens.

"You absolutely have a choice," Gilway said. "The takeout letter is not kicking you out of Citizens" but instead is alerting policyholders that a private company is interested in their business.

"You accept — and this is controversial — through a negative response: If you don't respond to the letter, you go [into] the take out company. But it is not a mandatory move."

Separately, Citizens announced Friday hiring a new chief financial officer and a new chief risk officer.

Jennifer Montero, who has been interim CFO since June, officially retains the position. Former board of governors member John Rollins will take on the top risk post. Rollins, who resigned from the board Monday, worked as Citizens' director fo analytics from 2006 to 2007.